A
coalition of 127 national and state civil-advocacy groups Monday (April 22)
issued an open letter addressed to the heads of national political parties,
calling on them to include repealing the Muslim ban and reversing the
historic-low cap on admitted refugees as signature issues in their 2020 party
platforms.

The
joint statement came in advance of the 2020 national party conventions held by the
Democratic, Republican, Green, and Libertarian parties. During these
conventions each political party updates their party platform, embodying the
principles and strategic goals of the party for the next four years.

"We
the undersigned organizational representatives of the African, Arab, Iranian,
Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian American communities; interfaith
partners; and civil, education, human and immigrant rights allies, call on all
national political parties to include repealing the Muslim Ban and reversing
the all-time-low cap on the annual number of refugees admitted into the United
States as signature issues in their 2020 party platforms.

"Our
country aspires to be a place where people can worship freely, exchange and
explore new ideas, start businesses, and remain safe and secure with their
families - to be a beacon of hope to those 'yearning to breathe free,' as
inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. The Muslim Ban and cuts to refugee
admissions contravene these ideals. They have torn mothers from their children,
kept people from lifesaving medical treatments, deprived Americans of access to
scholarship and voices we have the right to hear, and denied a safe harbor to
refugees fleeing global conflicts - including those in which our nation is an
active combatant.

"The
2020 election provides every political party with a renewed opportunity to
publicly assess whether its message and platform are aligned with our nation's
guiding values. We call on you to affirm our fundamental principles of
religious freedom and an open society by committing to repeal the Muslim Ban
and reverse the record-low cap on refugee admissions in your 2020 party
platforms. We are not seeking a nominal increase in refugee caps, or a
substitute for the Muslim Ban in the form of comparable vetting programs that rely
on religious or ethnic profiling. Rather, in committing to rescind these
policies, we ask for a strong statement that the United States welcomes people
of all nationalities, ethnicities, and creeds.

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"Several
resolutions and bills have already been introduced in Congress to overturn the
Muslim Ban and address gaps in our nation's legal framework that permitted its
authorization. Though these proposals have substantial support, they are
unlikely to become law in short order.

"That
is why we are collectively calling on our nation's political parties to elevate
these critical issues in their 2020 party platforms. The next political
convention cycle presents our nation with the best opportunity to move forward
in repealing the Muslim Ban and cap on refugees. Please make repealing the
Muslim Ban and increasing the refugee cap a central element of your party's
2020 platform."

It may be recalled that on June 26,
2018, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled in favor of the third
iteration of President Donald Trump's travel ban (known as Muslim Ban 3.0) on
five Muslim countries.

The current ban, announced in
September 2017, prohibits entry into the US by most people from Iran, Libya,
Somalia, Syria and Yemen. It also affects two non-Muslim majority countries,
blocking travelers from North Korea and some Venezuelan government officials
and their families.

In his decision, Chief Justice John
Roberts wrote that Trump had used his executive authority to "suspend entry of
aliens into the United States." "The [order]
is expressly premised on legitimate purposes: preventing entry of nationals who
cannot be adequately vetted and inducing other nations to improve their practices,"
Roberts
wrote. "The text says nothing about
religion."

Justice Sotomayor in her dissent wrote:
" A reasonable observer would conclude that the Proclamation was
driven primarily by anti-Muslim animus, rather than by the Government's
asserted national-security justifications. Even before being sworn into office,
then-candidate Trump stated that 'Islam hates us.'"

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The Supreme Court decision was
widely denounced by civil-advocacy, Arab, Muslim and religious groups as well
as lawyers. Surprisingly, even the atheists also bitterly criticized the
decision.

Author and journalist.
Author of
Islamic Pakistan: Illusions & Reality;
Islam in the Post-Cold War Era;
Islam & Modernism;
Islam & Muslims in the Post-9/11 America.
Currently working as free lance journalist.
Executive Editor of American (more...)

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